MARCH 2026 The Eagle of the Ninth Chapters 01-07
Original topic subject: MARCH 2026 The Eagle of the Ninth Chapters 1-7
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1amanda4242
Thread Book
Introduction
Chapters 1-7 (this thread)
Chapters 8-14
Chapters 15-21
Final Thoughts
Discussion for chapters 1 through 7.
Introduction
Chapters 1-7 (this thread)
Chapters 8-14
Chapters 15-21
Final Thoughts
Discussion for chapters 1 through 7.
2DebiCates
I'll be stopping in to make comments after I complete each chapter. Hope that's not annoying to anyone.
Chapter 1 After reading the first chapter, I'm wondering how deep into the rabbit hole of history I should go. Roman history is always a deep dive for me since I have a mere scant education in that regard.
I have a couple of foundational questions regarding the series' premise...
Is it correct that there is no mention in the historical record of the disappearance? That it is by omission alone that it is considered a "disappearance?"
Is it the curiosity of the omission along with the discovery of the bronze Silchester eagle in England and determined to be of a similar age that the idea prompted Sutcliff and others to think something dire might have happened to the Ninth, or was that idea proposed before the discovery of the eagle?
Here are some tidbits I am noting. Hope I've got this right:
Roman society was stratified by class. Often a son would follow in his father's class. So if his farther was a farmer, he'd be a farmer. If his father was a military leader, he'd likely aspire to be the same. If his father was a senator, he would likely become a senator.
A legion was about 5000 men, divided into 10 cohorts, with the first cohort usually twice as large as the others. Roughly speaking at the time the Ninth was last heard of, there would have been up to 30 legions around the Roman empire, and I believe 3 stationed in Britain.
The protagonist is young (around 18 I think), a centurion, Marcus Flavius, Aquila. A centurion leads about 80 men in one of the cohorts of the Second Legion, stationed in Britain. This legion is made up of new recruits from the Upper Gaul tribes (encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Northern Italy).
The cohort commander, Pilus Prior, is a natural born Roman hoping to make a name for himself with these healthy, strong, freshly drilled Gauls.
Our Marcus is also Roman born. Most importantly he is son of the head of the missing Ninth legion.
Chapter 1 After reading the first chapter, I'm wondering how deep into the rabbit hole of history I should go. Roman history is always a deep dive for me since I have a mere scant education in that regard.
I have a couple of foundational questions regarding the series' premise...
Is it correct that there is no mention in the historical record of the disappearance? That it is by omission alone that it is considered a "disappearance?"
Is it the curiosity of the omission along with the discovery of the bronze Silchester eagle in England and determined to be of a similar age that the idea prompted Sutcliff and others to think something dire might have happened to the Ninth, or was that idea proposed before the discovery of the eagle?
Here are some tidbits I am noting. Hope I've got this right:
Roman society was stratified by class. Often a son would follow in his father's class. So if his farther was a farmer, he'd be a farmer. If his father was a military leader, he'd likely aspire to be the same. If his father was a senator, he would likely become a senator.
A legion was about 5000 men, divided into 10 cohorts, with the first cohort usually twice as large as the others. Roughly speaking at the time the Ninth was last heard of, there would have been up to 30 legions around the Roman empire, and I believe 3 stationed in Britain.
The protagonist is young (around 18 I think), a centurion, Marcus Flavius, Aquila. A centurion leads about 80 men in one of the cohorts of the Second Legion, stationed in Britain. This legion is made up of new recruits from the Upper Gaul tribes (encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Northern Italy).
The cohort commander, Pilus Prior, is a natural born Roman hoping to make a name for himself with these healthy, strong, freshly drilled Gauls.
Our Marcus is also Roman born. Most importantly he is son of the head of the missing Ninth legion.
3DebiCates
Chapter II Being housed in wattle-and-daub must be quite a downgrade for a Roman from Rome, although they expected as much depending where they were stationed.
There seems to be certain officers that are semi-permanent to the fort as opposed to the current residing legion that seems new to this station and will be marched off some where else at some command no doubt. Those semi=permanent were officers like the Surgeon and the Quartermaster.
Marcus leads the...."Fourth Gaulish" cohorts?
He must also perform duties as a Magistrate, judging disputes. Apparently besides Gauls and natural born Romans, there are Dacians (from areas of today's Romania).
Sightings of Druid priests spook the fort.
The chariot bet was interesting. I never thought of there being a single and double man chariot before.
Ends on Marcus having some uneasy intuition about the native residents of Isca Dumnoniorum based on his sharp observations. Marcus knows that after three years of bad harvest, a harvest that has to also feed a Roman Legion, it would put a strain the locals attitudes about the garrison.
I just looked on the included map (I need a magnifying glass along with my readers!). I didn't realize Isca Dumnoniorum was so far south in England. I figured the fort was close to the north. it goes to show that at this point Rome has not well conquered the British island, not if a fort is needed still down in the south.
There seems to be certain officers that are semi-permanent to the fort as opposed to the current residing legion that seems new to this station and will be marched off some where else at some command no doubt. Those semi=permanent were officers like the Surgeon and the Quartermaster.
Marcus leads the...."Fourth Gaulish" cohorts?
He must also perform duties as a Magistrate, judging disputes. Apparently besides Gauls and natural born Romans, there are Dacians (from areas of today's Romania).
Sightings of Druid priests spook the fort.
The chariot bet was interesting. I never thought of there being a single and double man chariot before.
Ends on Marcus having some uneasy intuition about the native residents of Isca Dumnoniorum based on his sharp observations. Marcus knows that after three years of bad harvest, a harvest that has to also feed a Roman Legion, it would put a strain the locals attitudes about the garrison.
I just looked on the included map (I need a magnifying glass along with my readers!). I didn't realize Isca Dumnoniorum was so far south in England. I figured the fort was close to the north. it goes to show that at this point Rome has not well conquered the British island, not if a fort is needed still down in the south.
5DebiCates
>4 TonjaE: LOL! Many thanks, Tonja. You are a helpful, cheeky monkey.
I had paused reading The Eagle but now that you are here, I'll resume. ❤️
I had paused reading The Eagle but now that you are here, I'll resume. ❤️
6amanda4242
I really should have posted here sooner. My only defense is that I kept getting distracted by books. *hangs head in shame*
One thing that really impressed me was how Sutcliff conveyed a massive amount of information without it feeling like a lecture. Making the POV character both new to the area and new to his job allowed her to describe the setting, contrast it with Marcus's homeland, and give information about the army while framing it as a conscientious young officer making sure he was doing everything correctly.
One thing that really impressed me was how Sutcliff conveyed a massive amount of information without it feeling like a lecture. Making the POV character both new to the area and new to his job allowed her to describe the setting, contrast it with Marcus's homeland, and give information about the army while framing it as a conscientious young officer making sure he was doing everything correctly.
7DebiCates
>6 amanda4242: I stalled. I was enjoying it but had hoped for some company on the journey. Then, I was invited to read The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge with a ten year old. Who can say no to a buddy read from a granddaughter?
So I put a bookmark in The Ninth and re-shelved it.
I would be very interested, though, to pick this back up as a group/buddy read at a future time (July? Aug?) and maybe a 2 week read instead of a month would work better. (Is a 2 week read a thing?) It is wonderfully written!
So I put a bookmark in The Ninth and re-shelved it.
I would be very interested, though, to pick this back up as a group/buddy read at a future time (July? Aug?) and maybe a 2 week read instead of a month would work better. (Is a 2 week read a thing?) It is wonderfully written!
8amanda4242
>7 DebiCates: I'd be happy to chat with you about it at a later date! And a 2 week read can be a thing if we want it to be.
9DebiCates
>8 amanda4242: I'm very pleased. I'll bring it up again near the end of June, see what we can work out.
